You can't make this stuff up

Well, last week I was at lunch when my friend showed me the police beat. I'm not a huge fan of the newspaper, much less BYU's "The Daily Universe" (it doesn't quite match up to the Nordstrom catalog or People) but I decided to read it anyway. And, I guess it was polite since my friend was showing it to me. Anyway, I started reading down the list, an arrest, random criminal mischief, domestic violence, and then I get to the harassment section.

First, there were a few inappropriate text messages that were being investigated, and second my personal favorite and reason why I am writing this post. . ."BYU math teaching assistants called BYU police to report a male student who had repeatedly threatened them. The student said he would pull out a female TA's hair with duct tape (strange) and would stab another TA's foot with a thumb drive to infect him with a deadly virus. BYU police are questioning the individual."

They were totally serious, you can't just make this stuff up boys and girls. This is real BYU crime at its best. A deadly virus from a thumb drive, I can't get over it; I wish I could express my hysterical laughter in type, but let's face it, that's hard. Maybe a little too much world of war craft, I don't know. Next time you're planning on using that threat just be careful, you might end up in the police beat.

These are a few of my favorite things. .

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things. . . well, maybe for julie andrews, but i definitely have some favorites that i want to share.

1. the hane's men's white v-neck tee. they are perfect for working out, hanging out, going out, eating out, they're just good to wear and really cute. not to toot my own horn, but i have had several people comment on my cute white shirt and i laugh when i tell them what they are and that you can buy them at target in a pack of 5 for $8.97 ish. (that sounds more like a walmart price.) i have had several friends go out and buy some after they see mine and they wear them all the time.

2. c.o. bigelow ultra mentha lip shine from bath and body works. this stuff rocks! it adds a great shine to your lips and it tastes great. once again, i've gotten so many comments on my lip gloss while wearing it, from people i don't even know. now compared to your average drugstore lip gloss, it's expensive, but it's a great price compared to any major cosmetic line. it's $7.50 a tube, but bath and body has great sales and quite often they have them 3 for $15 dollars (it's like getting one free) so i just go and stock up when they have the sales (unless i'm in desperate need). seriously though, it's so worth it. plus they have all sorts of flavors and tints now and it's always fun to try something new; i recommend the lemon and black cherry soda if you want to mix it up.

3. costco vanilla soymilk. for some of us, dairy does not do a body good. luckily, costco has decided to make another quality product and kirkland has brought us vanilla soymilk. it's so good (i like it better than silk) and the price is right. why buy one carton of silk for $3 when you can buy three at costco for $7. even for a single girl this is great, since it's not dairy it has a much longer expiration period and i can definitely finish all three before it's time is up.

4. rainbow flip flops. these are so great. i have bad feet and a i need a good sole on my shoes. these are the only flip flops i can wear all day without making my feet hurt. they also last so much longer than any other flip flop i've ever had. they look good with most outfits because they're so basic, they're just like the perfect summer shoe. they are more expensive than a lot of flip flops but totally worth it ($45 at nordstrom and pac sun, sometimes cheaper on ebay). get some, you'll love them.

5. finally (for now) restoration hardware no crack, super hand cream. this stuff is awesome. living in utah means dry skin and especially dry, cracked, bleeding hands in the winter. this cream works miracles, it keeps your hands soft and moisturized. it's not greasy and it smells great. it comes in all sorts of scents (some favorites are the sweet orange and the herb) if you have dry hands this is the answer to your prayers.

and, of course, the rest of the lyrics from a classic, oh we love "The Sound of Music"

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings. These are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, silver white winters that melt into springs, these are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad.

My first day in court

I started off my day in court by telling my mom I had to go to court. She was a little surprised by that news, I'm a pretty good kid (yes 21 and still a kid), and I almost had her worried that I may have been hiding something. Well, to her great relief, I then explained why I was going to court; I was observing a court session for my business law class to get a little extra credit (oh what college students won't do for little extra credit). So off to court I went with my friend Dave.

Rule one, when going to observe court take a friend, it's surprising how not like "Law & Order" it really is. It's nice to have someone to talk to during recess.

Rule two, don't take a camera phone to court, they won't let you in, no matter how upstanding of a citizen you may look to be; just don't do it.

After riding the slowest elevator in the world (honestly, I thought we were on the 4th floor when we had only made it to the 2nd, slow elevator), we found the courtroom. I thought I had walked into a chapel when I entered. There were cushioned, blue fabric (the kind that never shows any dirt unless you spill red juice on it) pews, a podium in the front for the judge, and a jury box that could have also served as a choir box. The basic chapel design is more universal than we all thought.

Before the hearings, the police and lawyers were talking about their weekends in Vegas and it felt so casual, nothing like Hollywood promotes. When the judge finally came in, we all stood, and it was as if casual ran out of the room and formality strolled on in. The first hearing was for a man that could only speak Spanish so he had an interpreter. The interpreter whispered every word spoken into the defendant's ear at million miles a minute and answered back to the judge just as fast. At the end it was decided that the defendant would be put on two months probation to undergo some psycho-analysis and then be sentenced to prison for 1-15 years. The whole thing took maybe seven minutes! Granted this was a pretty easy case and the guy plead guilty, but still I was expecting a good thirty minutes of questioning; seriously, Hollywood overdoes it.

Rule three of going to court, learn some court jargon. Luckily, I know so much from business law that I was able to keep up on those trick words, but if you don't know the jargon you might be a little confused.

The most entertaining part of the whole experience was watching the interpreter; it's rare you see someone so completely happy to be doing their job. He was smiling like the entire time. After he was dismissed, I was almost expecting a bow, but he just gave us a nice little turn, a few little skips out the door and then a nice little jaunt down the hallway. Let's just say this man was very light in step.

Plain, normal courtroom

Fancy schmancy, not so everyday courtroom

Overall, court was not what I expected, but I'm glad I got a realistic view of what it is. I won't be able to watch any show with a courtroom the same anymore; "Divorce Court" isn't even totally realistic. Now, I know not all courts look like those in Provo, Utah, but I'm going to take a wild guess that about 75% are pretty darn similar.

On a more serious note, it was very disheartening to see three teenage boys sitting in handcuffs in the jury box waiting for their hearings. They were probably 15-17 years old, but they looked so aged because they had to grow up so quickly to deal with the poor choices they had made to get them to that point in life. Kids shouldn't have to grow up that fast, but yet they do everyday.